a. The mortal threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the Governor and Legislature to take drastic but necessary action. Executive Order No. 103 of 2020 effectively shut down the New Jersey economy on March 9, 2020, in order to hinder the rapid spread of the virus and to limit as much as possible the number of infections, severe illnesses, and deaths. During the same time period, the Governor and Legislature enacted P.L.2020, c.1 (C. 2A:18-59.3) and the Governor issued Executive Order No. 106 of 2020, and implemented a moratorium on evictions, so as to ensure that during the covered period, households would be able to shelter in place and eliminate the threat posed by displacement, overcrowding, and the resultant spread of the virus.

b. The foregoing measures caused severe economic difficulties for landlords and tenants alike. Tenants, who in general have lower-incomes and far less wealth than homeowners, have been disproportionately affected: a large number of them immediately became and remain unemployed or underemployed. This is especially so for lower-income people of color, who are predominantly tenants and who continue to be victimized by systemic and structural racism, which has left them severely disadvantaged and extremely vulnerable to health emergencies and economic downturns.

c. Millions of jobs in our State and elsewhere have been permanently lost, and a significant number of jobs abruptly interrupted by the virus-driven shutdown have yet to return.

d. As a result, thousands of tenants in our State are unable to pay all or even part of the rental arrearages caused by the pandemic when the moratorium ends, and these tenants will also find it extremely difficult to make their future, ongoing regular monthly rental payments once they resume.

e. An overwhelming number of struggling tenant households, that are disproportionately Black and brown, will therefore be at risk of eviction for non-payment of all or part of their rent due and owing shortly after the moratorium is lifted. Combining the number of struggling tenants with the number of people at risk of displacement if the arrearage and future rent payment issues are not addressed, evictions and the resulting overcrowding, could create conditions that will lead to a resurgence and new spread of COVID-19.

f. At the same time, landlords have shouldered the financial burden of housing over a million tenants, as well as the costs of maintaining the buildings, paying their mortgages, taxes, and other financial obligations with insufficient help from the State or federal government.

g. While housing is a necessity, private sector landlords have thus far maintained their properties and paid their financial obligations, including State and local taxes, despite a lack of full compensation or assistance.

h. In Executive Order No. 106 of 2020, the Governor expressly stated that protection and preservation of personal and public health was the primary reason driving the imposition of the economic shutdown and eviction moratorium, a health-centered concern echoed and reinforced by the national eviction moratorium subsequently mandated by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the surge in vaccinations and a corresponding drop in COVID-19 pandemic-related hospitalizations, the public health justification to maintain the eviction moratorium will eventually subside, and the Legislature deems it necessary to help struggling tenants avoid displacement and to compensate landlords for providing this necessary shelter to many tenants without compensation during the pandemic.

i. In providing these protections, the State must ensure that rent arrearages accrued during the covered period are not used as a mechanism for eviction. Rather, such debt shall be treated as civil debt, subject to recovery by the landlord in a civil suit for a money judgment, which will balance the obligations of the tenant under a lease contract with the need to provide housing stability.

j. It is, therefore, necessary for the Legislature to assist landlords who have suffered deep economic losses through no fault of their tenants or themselves, and, simultaneously, make efforts to assist tenants who need help as a result of this crisis, in order to ensure some measure of security and stability for their families and communities; provide landlords with the restored rental income stream required to safely and efficiently operate their buildings; and prevent a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic that will threaten the health and safety of tenants, landlords, and the public at large.

L.2021, c.188, s.1.